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Old v. Gold 201 poster

Old v. Gold 201: Better Off Dead

Season 2 premiere! Ah, the ’80s. When Americans were obsessed with skiing contests, French foreign-exchange students, Howard Cosell-imitating drag racers, and dancing Claymation fast food — all rigorously documented in exacting cinéma vérité detail by director Savage Steve Holland via Better Off Dead, Fall 1985’s required dose of John Cusack.

Join us (and the peanut gallery) as we find out whether the movie’s maybe-slightly-above-two-dollars budget still pays off three decades later. Or, instead, you can watch an awesomely terrible, Roger Corman-produced sci-fi film we get distracted about.

Ducks, you know, for comedy.

Podcasters: Robert, Tim, April, Joanna

  • 00:00 Intro and Memories
  • 12:01 Rapid Recap
  • 14:18 Second First (or First Second) Impressions
  • 22:55 The Heartthrobification of John Cusack
  • 27:33 Oblivious Insensitivity
  • 33:18 Which Came First: the ’80s or the ’80s Movies?
  • 36:43 The Vote

Next Week’s Assignment

It’s back to the good ol’ Enterprise for a Season 2 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that asks the unpunctuated question: Q Who.

Comments? Questions?

Check us out on Twitter (@hiddendeadly or #oldvgold).

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